The present invention relates to oxygen masks, and more particularly relates to oxygen masks used with military aircraft pilot helmets.
Currently standard flight helmets for fixed wing and rotor aircraft use the same clip on oxygen mask as found on fighter helmet applications. This provides oxygen/hypoxia protection but no “smoke” protection. Smoke protection is usually considered to include some form of sealed eye protection with an integral positive pressure or other means for keeping contaminants out, in addition to respiratory protection. Flight helmets come in a variety of sizes and designs, thus making the application of a single mask to a variety of designs a difficult problem. This represents a significant disadvantage in light of the large number of different flight helmet designs that currently exist.
For example, one such conventional smoke mask that currently will fit within and interact with a flight helmet has a design that requires that the flight helmet and front opening of the flight helmet be large enough to allow the face seal of the smoke mask to fit inside the flight helmet for direct contact with the wearer's face. This design is constrained to fit completely within the flight helmet to contact the face, limiting the field of view available to the wearer.
Current full face oxygen masks are also typically designed to fit on the heads and facial features of about 5 to 95 percent of pilots and crew, but these masks typically will not fit or interact with a pilot or crew member additionally wearing a flight helmet for protection.
Thus, there is a need for an oxygen mask which provides an adequate breathing gas environment and protection from smoke and debris which can be adapted for use with a wide variety of pilot helmets. The present invention fills these and other needs.